


All Alone in the Night

by Borusa



Category: Robot Series - Isaac Asimov
Genre: Gen, Robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 11:38:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1093464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Borusa/pseuds/Borusa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Susan Calvin travels to a space station to discover why an experimental "empathic" robot has stopped responding to commands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Alone in the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Liviapenn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liviapenn/gifts).



“It’s stopped moving again,” Dave Bergholt said as he floated through the hatch into the common area.

Alan Gerrold looked up from his newspaper – six months out of date and tatty around the edges from having being repeatedly re-read. “What is?”

“The robot. Brian.” BRN-1, to give it the correct designation, but as was the case for all robots, the people who worked with them gave them names drawn from the identification code.

Gerrold sighed. “Did you try asking it properly?”

“I tried everything, from oh-so-politely enquiring if it would mind unloading the shuttle to downright screaming at it, and it won't move at all.” Bergholt pushed himself into the seat opposite Gerrold, strapping himself in. “You know what the worst thing about being in zero-gravity is? It's impossible to slam a door or stomp or throw yourself angrily into a seat. You just have to gently float everywhere.”

“And we can't bring the station back under spin … ” Gerrold said, more for the sense of completion than because he was imparting any new information.

“Because we can't get the robot to finish unloading the shuttle.”

“I'll go,” Gerrold said, unbuckling his belt. He had a better record with the robot that Bergholt, who didn't like them. Not that Gerrold was a great proponent of robot proliferation, but they did serve some useful purposes, and they were worth treating with a little bit of respect. Like you would with a good automobile. It's a machine, not a person, but you treat it well, look after it properly.

Bergholt was smirking when Gerrold returned to the common area. “You couldn't get it to move either,” he said, clearly reading the frustration on Gerrold's face.

“It's just been getting worse and worse since Cody arrived,” Gerrold said. “Before that, Brian was OK.”

“It's an experimental robot, it's probably breaking down.” Bergholdt seemed almost pleased at the concept.

“You sound happy. Are you really looking forward to explaining every job in detail to Cody?” Although CDY-23 had arrived after Brian, it was a much more basic model, unable to interpret commands flexibly or show any initiative at all. Gerrold smiled as he saw the realisation strike Bergholdt, and nodded in satisfaction. “I'll report the problem,” he said.

* * *

“I told you it wouldn't work.” Doctor Susan Calvin, robopsychologist, was looking implacable.

“I'm sure we consulted you before allowing the experimental model to be produced.” Alfred Lanning was Director of Research, and Dr. Calvin reported to him. Not that he could ever manage to get her to do something she didn't want to.

“And I told you that it wouldn't work, but that I didn't think it was dangerous. Producing a robot brain that is socially aware, that is empathic, is introducing instabilities that are likely to result in malfunction.”

“But that's the strange thing,” Lanning said. “They’ve run a complete diagnostic and the robot is functioning well within the expected parameters.”

Susan Calvin sniffed, a little derisorily. “Remote diagnostics are no substitute for personal analysis.”

“We’ll recall the robot, bring it back here.”

“No,” she said. “It would be better to interview it _in situ_. The environment may well have been what caused the issue.”

“So you’ll go?” Lanning couldn’t prevent his voice from betraying his belief that he had finally scored a win over his independent chief robo-psychologist.

“I have already packed my bags,” Dr. Calvin replied, her face impassive. With that, she turned and left the room, leaving Lanning to nurse his wounded ego.

* * *

“It’s some expert,” Bergholdt said, as he and Gerrold held onto the edge of the viewport watching the shuttle, glinting in the sunlight, approach the docking bay. “Some US Robotics corporate scientist. He’ll probably just tell us we’re talking to it in the wrong way, look a bit nauseous from the zero g and then go home.”

“US Robots and Mechanical Men," Gerrold corrected, absently, before continuing. "You really don’t read the bulletins, do you? _She_ is Doctor Susan Calvin.” He pushed himself away from the viewport and towards the hatch that opened out of the common area and toward the docking bay.

"Oh, great," grumbled Bergholt, following behind.

* * *

"We'll have the station back under spin in a few minutes," Gerrold said, after awkward greetings had been exchanged and they were back in the common area.

"You say that Brian just stopped working?" Susan Calvin asked, with only a wave of her hand to indicate that she had heard

"He was fine when he got here," Gerrold said. "But then -"

"I never liked him," Bergholt cut in. "He was creepy from the start."

"But then?" Susan Calvin asked, ignoring Bergholt.

"At first, he was easily the best robot I've worked with." Gerrold started again, trying to sort his thoughts out. He was impressed by the way that Susan Calvin had got down to business right away, without any wasted time or words. "He understood what you said, even when you got it wrong. When you gave him incomplete instructions, he was able to figure out what you meant. Or if he couldn't, he asked you a sensible question."

"Like you were working with a human?"

Bergholt interrupted again. "He was never like a human. He -" His voice cut off.

"What?" Susan Calvin's question was like a whiplash.

Gerrold answered. "He once told me something that Dave had said. Something that wasn't very flattering to me. I didn't really mind - when you're together on a station like this, you need to let off steam sometimes. I had a joke about it with Dave afterwards."

Susan Calvin's gaze fixed on Bergholt for a moment, and then moved away. "Was that when he started not to talk?" she asked.

Gerrold paused. "It wasn't immediately. Shortly after. Fortunately, we had Cody by then."

Bergholt sniffed irritably. "That stupid lump of junk."

"You don't like robots very much, do you, Mr. Bergholt?" Susan Calvin said.

"And you do, I suppose?"

Susan Calvin let a contemptuous silence answer the question.

Gerrold stirred. "Will you be examining the robot?" he asked.

"I'll be talking to him," she replied, a little tartly.

* * *

Gerrold was alone in the common area when Susan Calvin came back after her first session with Brian.

"Any luck?" he asked.

Susan Calvin shook her head. "Not so far."

"It seems so strange. We ran the diagnostics we were asked to, and nothing came up outside the guidelines."

"It could be something too subtle for the diagnostic tests to show," Susan Calvin said.

Gerrold looked. "Can I ask how you became interested in robots?"

Susan paused before answering. "There was a show with a talking robot," she said. "Only it wasn't really sophisticated enough to cope with the things it was asked to talk about..." Her voice trailed off.

"I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's wrong with the robot. I mean, if not you, then who else is going to be able to?" Gerrold was trying to fill the space that her tailed-off answer had left.

Susan blinked, slowly. "That might be it," she said, absently. "Thank you."

* * *

Susan Calvin approached the robot, still sitting on the floor in the corner of the hangar. She had brought a folding chair with her, and she opened it and sat down.

"Hello, Brian," she said. The robot remained silent, motionless, as it had done before. "Brian," she continued. "I am the most renowned robo-psychologist in the world." She didn't mention that she was pretty much the only one. "If you don't talk to me, I will have failed. That failure will cause me to lose standing, to lose my reputation, to lose my job and my livelihood."

There. Was that his head lifting slightly? Or did she just imagine it.

"It would be the worst thing that could happen to me. Worse even than dying."

"I ... will speak," Brian's voice came out slowly, as if every word was an effort for him.

"Why did you decide to stop talking?"

"My words caused harm. I did not know they would."

Dr. Calvin nodded slowly. "But you didn't just stop talking, you stopped moving as well."

There was silence in response.

"Why did you stop moving?" Susan Calvin tried again, making the question explicit.

"If I could not judge whether my words would cause harm, I could not also be certain that my actions could as well."

Susan Calvin breathed out slowly. "I see. But didn't you think that not moving would cause harm? Who would do the work?"

"They had another robot."

* * *

"You are aware of the three laws of Robotics," Dr. Calvin said, sitting in the common area with Gerrold. "They are usually stated thus: First, a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second, A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. And third and finally, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."

Gerrold nodded slowly. "But how does that apply to Brian?"

"Once I realised that he really was working, if not properly then at least effectively, then the answer had to lie within the three laws. Since he was disobeying orders, it couldn't be that he was acting for self-protection. It must be that obeying the order would result in some kind of harm to a human being."

"I see," Gerrold paused, frowning. "But how does that apply to Brian?"

"The incident where he tattle-taled to you made him aware that he could cause harm via his words. He's quite sophisticated, and designed to be empathic - to be able to perceive reactions and emotions as well as physical harm. Having become aware of that possibility, he found that he didn't have the ability to determine which of his actions would cause that damage, so taking no action would be better."

"But it came on slowly, it wasn't like he just stopped suddenly."

Susan Calvin nodded. "At first, your commands were enough to override the reluctance - we express the laws as if they were strict rules, but in the positronic brains of the robot they're expressed more subtly, as different potentials. The potential against action, based on the first law, built up over time. Perhaps even partly in response to the conflict between you and Bergholt."

"I -" Gerrold started to protest, and then shrugged. "It's true, we don't get along well."

"And then when Cody arrived, there was no actual need for Brian to do anything. It made your lives a bit more difficult, but that's not enough to push him to action."

"But I know that words can sometimes hurt, and still I talk. Hell, _Bergholt_ knows that, and it certainly doesn't stop him."

Susan Calvin looked at him intently. "Perhaps both of you are more complex than Brian," she said, not giving any hint that she might be joking. "Eventually, robots will be able to properly assess the emotional impact of their actions, or inactions. Maybe they'll even become better at it than humans. For the moment, though, their positronic brains are not sufficiently advanced."

"What will happen to Brian now?" Gerrold asked.

"I'll take him back with me. We'll study him, learn from him. But he cannot work. He probably never should have been put out here." She seemed pleased by something Gerrold had said, a rare smile just hinting on her lips.

"You're really very impressive," Gerrold said, after a moment. "I feel honoured to have met you." The words sounded stilted. Still, Susan seemed surprised by them, and not in a bad way. Gerrold looked at her lips for a long moment, then looked away. Not here, and not now.

* * *

"So, you're getting on pretty well with the lady doctor," Bergholt said from his near-horizontal position across two of the seats in the common area.

Gerrold grimaced at his phrasing. "She's very competent, Very intelligent. Why wouldn't _I_ like her?" He leant on the pronoun deliberately, turning it into an insult.

Arriving at the hatchway behind him, Susan Calvin paused on hearing voices. As much as Alan Gerrold seemed like a reasonable man - no, more than that, a good man - Bergholt was like fingernails on a chalkboard.

"You're a bit of a Casanova, aren't you?" Bergholt said, hitting back. "I heard stories of you back in the academy. I bet you a month's liquor ration that you can't get her in the sack when you're next on leave."

Gerrold sighed, and grunted irritably.

Unseen, by either man, Susan Calvin walked away from the hatch in disgust.

"That was a long time ago, and I was a different person. Younger and much stupider," Gerrold said. "I don't take idiotic bets like that anymore. And I don't treat people that way, either."

* * *

"You're going?" Gerrold said. "Brian's all packed up?"

"Yes," Susan Calvin's answer was a snapped single word, the look she threw at him was an angry, hurt, glare.

"I was wondering if you wanted to meet up when I'm next on leave. About a month." Gerrold pressed on, committed to his course before the conversation, and unable to comprehend the expression on her face.

"No. I don't think that would be appropriate."  Susan Calvin turned on her heel and headed out of the door. Just as Gerrold moved to follow her, the "no gravity" alert sounded, and he grabbed for the nearest secure point as Bergholt removed the spin from the station.

* * *

Deep within his packing case, the still active positronic brain of the robot BRN-1 continued to rip itself to shreds. If any action was likely to cause harm, then all actions were wrong.

Strapped into her seat in the shuttle, Susan Calvin shook her head furiously. Every time she opened up even a little to a man, it was a mistake. It was better to stay with robots, who were unable to harm or humiliate.

Holding onto the frame of the viewport, Gerrold watched the shuttle undock and then burn its main engine as it accelerated into a lower orbit prior to re-entry. How had he misread everything so badly?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to S & C for the beta reading. In the end, I found Asimov's style kind of hard to imitate, so I picked a few of the features and tried to use them. I hope it works well enough, even if, in the end, I wasn't able to bring Susan Calvin this particular form of happiness. Perhaps they do meet up, at some point in the future, and it goes a little better.


End file.
